Rail joint



Nov. 5, 1940.

A. G. c. SCHRQETER RAIL JOINT Filed Aug. 7, 1939 Patented Noviv 5, 19.40

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Y, f 2,220,179 t Y 't t RAiL Jonvr N AlbertG. o. schroeter, south chicago, 1u. Application August 7, 193,9, semiNo. 288,751 1 claim. (C1.` 23a-191') The invention relates to railjoints. The` members I terminate below the heads of One objectv of theinvention is to provide a the rail so theeloadingon the rails will betransrail joint which is efficient in use and which is mitted lthroughthe j web to the joint. V The adapted to prevent cracking of the railweb. bridge-plate c has ,a flat top-face I4 which fits Another object ofthe invention is to provide against thebottom-face of the railflangesiedges 5 an improved rail joint which comprises splice- I5 whichare flush with the edges of thebase bars and a bridge-plate having itslower side proanges and a central reinforcedk or thickened vided withreinforcement substantially coplanar portion I6, the bottom-face II ofwhich is flush or iiush with the bottom faces of the members orsubstantiallycoplanar with the bottom faces l0 of the splice-bars whichunderlie the base flanges of the inturned; members I3v of thesplice-bare 10 of the rail soV that both the bridge-plate and theBetweeni'ts reinforcement `I'I and edges I5 the Splice-bers may beuniformly Supported upon the splice-bars are inclined upwardlyoutwardly, ties. as at I8, kand the abutting faces of members I3Aliether Object Of the invention iSztO prOVide arecorrespondinglyinclined for wedging engagea rail jOint Which @OmpliSeS Splice-bars anda. ment. The sides of reinforcement I'I are spaced i bridge-platebeneath the bese ailges, the Splieeslightly from the inner ends ofmembers I3 of bars being reinforced to adequately' support the thesplice-bars to leave clearance for the clampends of the rails when thesplice is between the ing of the splice-bars to the rails. The wedgingties. engagement of members II, I3 of the splice-bars .20 Other objectsof the invention will appear from and the' brdge p1ate Clamp thebridge-plate 20 the detailed description. against theibottom of therails.` Bolts I9 extend The `invention consists in the several novelfeathrough 'holes in the members l0 ef the Sp1iee tures hereinafter setforth and more particularly plate and the Webs a2 ef the rails and areadaptdescribed in the claim at the conclusion hereof. ed t0 securelyclamp the splice-bars SideWSe ilitO Z5 In the drawingt Fig. l is a sideelevation of engagement with the rails. This clamping forces 25 grailjoint embodying the iIlVeIltiOD- Fig 2 iS members I I of thesplice-bars, into loading ena Section taken 0n the line 2-2 .0f Fig. 1-Fig 3 gagement with the base flanges, clamps the inner S a Section taken011 the line 3-3 0f Fig. 1- Fig faces of members IU securely against thesides of 4 iS a perSpeCtiVe 0f the bridge-plate Fig 5 iS the web a2 ofthe rails, and forces the bridgea perspective of one of the splice-bars.Fig. 6 is plete inte leading engagement with the bottom 30 a sideelevation illustrating a modified form of of the raus; The bottom facesof members I3 the invention in Which the J'Oirlt iS applied t0` of thesplice-bars and face II of the bridge-plate rails between the ties. Fig.'7 iS a SeetiOl1 teken are ush or substantially coplanar so that whenOnline T-- 0f Fig 6- Fig- 8 iS a peTSpeCtiVe 0f the joint rests upon arailway tie d, as shown :"'5 one of the splice-bars shown in Figs. 6 and7. in Figs, 1, 2 and 3, both the bridge-plate and 35 The inVentiOn iseXemPii-ed as applied t0 rails splice-bars will engage the tie foreciently sup,- a 0f the Standard type and Comprising a head al portingthe joint. The upper edges of members e Web at and ,bese flanges ai TheContiguous In of the splice bar terminate below the head a1 ends may b ePlased 0I' transversff of the rails because, if the splice-bars extendi0 The rail 301m Pmpmses a' pan' of Sphce'bars to the rail-head,fracture of the web frequently 40 b and b1 and a bndgfi'plate c SeClredunder the results from the pounding of the wheels against base flangesof the rails by the sphce-bars. Each the mmead adjacent the jonts Bytransmt splice-bar comprises a vertical member I0, the t. ing theloading through the web and base to inner face of wh1ch fits agalnst,and has clampthe brdgemlate the reinforcing portion .s of

.37, ing engagement with, the side faces of the web a2 of the railsections; a laterally and downwardthe brldge'plate extends from end toend thereof 1y inclined integral member H extending over to uniformlyreinforce the plate throughout its and having loading and wedgingengagement lengthwith the upper inclined face of the flanges as at eBolts 20v extend through the spllce-bars below 5U one side of' therails; a vertically and downwardly the base 0f the rail and beYOIid theends Of the 50 extending member I2 at the outer side of, andbridge-plate t0 Seeilie the bridge-plate against with clearance around,the outer edge of the base endwise movement relatively to the rail andflanges a3 and the bridge-plate; and an integral splice-bars, and alsoto assist in retaining the inturned and laterally extending member I3dismembers I3 of the splice-bars against spreadposed under the outerportion of the base ange. ing, Locating these bolts beyond the ends ofthe 65 holes in the plate.

The thickness of the reinforcement I6 of the bridge-plate and thecombined thickness of the marginal portions of the bridge-plate andmembers I3 o-f the splice-bar, is substantially equal to the thicknessof the usual tie-plate so that the joint will support the rails inalignment with the support furnished by the tie-plates on the tiesbetween the joint. l

In the modification illustarted in Figs. "6 and 7, the invention isexemplified 'in a" rail-joint adapted to Support the ends of the railswhen they meet between ties. vention the bridge-plate and thesplice-bars are of the same construction hereinbefore described,

except that the splice-bars are -provided with`v` downturned anges 2|.Bolts 22 extend through low the bridge-plate and the rails.Thesplicebars comprise members Illa for engaging the web, members IIafor providing loading and Wedging engagement between the splice-bars andthe base anges, members I2ab extending around the edges of the baseflanges of the rail and the sidelr'nar'- gins of the bridge-plate, andmembers I3EL having wedging engagement withtheA side-margins of thebridge-plate. The flanges 2I, depending from the inner ends of, members|35; adapt lthe joint for supporting the rail-ends between, andindependently of, adjacent ties. vThe bridgeplate in this constructionisY also held against endwise movement by bolts 20.

In practice, `the splice-bars and bridge-plate can be formed of rolledstock. y The construction is one which provides' a -joint kofcomparatively light weight, because it is possible to use lighter andshorter joints than those used instandard constructions. It is alsopossible to apply th rail joints to existing' tracks with the usel ofitie-` plates which correspond Ain thickness to -the bridge-plate. Whilefour bolts have been shown In this form of the in- A 2,220,179bridgeplateyv avoids the necessity of forming for clamping thesplice-bars to the rails, in some instances two are sucient, the lengthof the joint being varied according to the weight of the rails. t

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details setforth, since these may be modified within the scopeof the appendedclaim, without departing from the spirit and scope o-f the invention. i

Having thus described the invention, what I claim` as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

In a rail joint, the combination of rails each comprising a head, a web,and base flanges, splice-bars spanning the rails and comprising `membershaving vertically extending inner faces -for clampingagainst the sidesof the rail webs, members having loading engagement with the iianges 2Iand draw the splice-bars together'betop of the base flanges, membersunderlying the rails and members extending around the outer edges of thebase flanges, the members of each splice-bar being integral, abridge-plate l underlying and abutting against the bottom faces of therailsjthe underlying members of the bars having: their inner sidesspaced apart and having wedging engagement with the bottom faces of themargins of ,the bridge-plate, the bridgeplate having increased thicknessbetween the inner sides of, and terminating inwardly of the ends of',the splice-bars below the rails, clamping bolts extending through thesplice-bars beneath the rails and outwardly of the endsof thebridge-plate for confining the bridge-plate against endwise movement,and bolts extending through the vertically extending members of thesplice-bars.y and the webs of the rails, the underlying members beingprovided with downwardly extending flanges outwardly of and at the sidesof the portion of increased thickness on the bridge-plate, andeboltsextending through said flanges. f Y

f ALBERT G. C. SCI-IROETER.

